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Menterra invests more than $1 million in Biosense Technologies

Bengaluru, India, April 10, 2018 - Menterra
Venture Advisors, an impact investment fund that invests in early-stage social
startups has announced a new round of investment in Biosense Technologies
alongside its investment partner Artha Venture Challenge, impact investment
initiative of the Singh Family Foundation. With the new round, Menterra and
Artha have provided more than US$1m of direct equity funding and unlocked soft
debt funding of more than US$2m through its network. The Maharashtra-based
start-up provides quality, affordable and connected point-of-care diagnostics
solutions for chronic diseases in India.

Biosense, started by a team of doctors
and biomedical engineers, founded the company upon noticing the gaps in the
provision of preventive care for chronic diseases, especially in non-metro
cities and small towns of India. Initially, they started developing affordable
medical devices that helped diagnose chronic problems from anaemia to diabetes
and urine check. Today, they have six products and plan to scale up, in terms
of R&D and distribution to other parts of the country.

Commenting on the investment, Mukesh
Sharma, Head Menterra Venture Advisors says, “We have been associated with the
team for over seven years now. First through incubation-fund platform at
Villgro, and then with investment and intense post-investment support beyond
risk capital. The teams’ bold vision to solve the critical chronic healthcare
challenge for our country at scale, never wavered through years of testing and
learning. Few people know that they are one of the few ‘Make in India’
companies creating indigenous glucose strips for diabetes testing. We are
immensely happy to partner with them on their growth journey.”

There has been a curious shift in
disease patterns in India from 1990 to 2016. According to the ‘Health of Nation
States’ report, causes of death were fairly uniform in 1990 but are far more
varied now. There is a need for different health interventions in the present
day and time.

Abhishek Sen, co-founder of Biosense,
puts the data in perspective, “We look at the disease shift as 3 waves in our
country. Wave 1, with communicable diseases like diarrhoea have lessened but
even today, when we work in rural districts, we see its deadly impact. On the
other hand, with Wave 2, non-communicable diseases like diabetes are emerging
as new killers.Wave 3, with mental
health disorders such as mental stress, social isolation and depression etc.
Many of these conditions are preventable. The twin burden of diabetes and
anaemia has become our crusade. Today, we are not just device manufacturers. We
are chronic disease solution providers.”

Biosense has conducted over more than
4m tests for chronic diseases in 2017 alone, across India. Through their
ground-level work, they have been able to collect detailed data on disease
patterns. Data that can target more public health interventions real-time
instead of relying on information that, like many medicines, is past the expiry
date for use.

The funding from Menterra will help
optimizing its supply chain, and to develop an end-to-end chronic disease
solution platform for patients, in partnership with key partners in the
healthcare ecosystem.

Abhishek Sen added that “It has been
great to partner with Menterra. They act as a long-term partner for
entrepreneurs. This longevity and commitment helps entrepreneurs build the
start-up from an idea to market and followed by further support to scale up. We
couldn’t have asked for more committed partner to take our mission forward.”

Menterra invests more than $1 million in Biosense Technologies
Reviewed by ST Bureau
on
April 10, 2018
Rating: 5